Northumberland vets involved in project to control BVD in 30 farms
- A group of vets is working to control bovine viral diarrhoea in 30 Northumberland farms
- Move is a response to launch of Scotland’s BVD eradication programme, but will bring benefits to herd health in the north east
- Scheme co-sponsored by Novartis Animal Health
Frimley, 16th December 2011 – A group of Northumberland vets are working with 30 farmers to control bovine viral diarrhoea in response to the Scottish Government’s plan to eradicate the disease north of the border.
John Macfarlane, of Alnorthumbria Vets, working with colleagues Jenny Hall and Joe Henry, said the project, based on a British Cattle Veterinary Association initiative, was aiming to control the disease in a specific geographical area of the Coquet Valley.
The scheme, which is partly sponsored by Novartis Animal Health, One North East and Lantra LandSkills, is a response to fears that English breeding stock will not sell north of the border without the appropriate BVD certification once controls are in place.
“Besides the issue of selling stock to Scottish farmers, this programme will have a real beneficial effect on farms in the area. There will be an impact on animal health as well as farm productivity and profitability,” he said.
“We’ve been working with RAFT Solutions to get the funding to look at the control of BVD in a defined geographical area. We started off with 20 farms but realised there were gaps left in the block of farms, so we have now expanded to 30 farms.”
“By tackling the disease on an area basis rather than on a farm by farm basis, far more can be achieved,” said Mr Macfarlane
The Scottish Government began its compulsory testing programme in December, with a view to having all breeding herds in Scotland declare their BVD status by the end of 2012.
The Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) is involved in testing samples from the Northumbrian farms.
Ian Pritchard, Health Scheme Manager at the SAC, said there had been a series of meetings organised at auction houses in the north of England.
“We are asking the cattle producer to consider joining a health scheme because this will enable the resultant breeding stock or store/suckled calves to be sold with some form of health assurance documentation which will be recognized by the purchaser. Blood testing a sample of calves from each management group on the farm is the first step,” he said.
The SAC is recommending that persistently infected (PI) animals should be identified and then culled out of the herd to effect eradication of the disease.
“There is widespread support in Scotland to eradicate BVD and rightly so as the effects in a herd can be severe with barren cows, extended calving periods, deaths and outbreaks of pneumonia. Some of the islands around Scotland have made good progress in eradicating BVD.
“Farmers must be aware that they must not drop their guard and maintain a high level of biosecurity on their unit. A major source of the disease are the animals purchased onto farms and sourcing animals with a BVD health declaration will help in raising awareness and will encourage more producers to tackle BVD – this can only be good for farmers wherever they are in the British Isles,” he said.
Eugene Smyth, Brand Manager with Novartis Animal Health, said: “There is a view that accreditation will be of great value to farmers in England who wish to sell stock in Scotland, but BVD eradication south of the border will also be positive for animal welfare and farm productivity.”
Novartis Animal Health vet Saul Harvey said BVD had the effect of weakening animals and opened the door to other disease such as scouring and pneumonia.
“Farmers who want to tackle BVD need to get in touch with their health advisers and vets. The first step is to establish the status of the herd. You then have to decide what you are going to do if you do find BVD in the herd, and this may involve a combination of removing PI stock, vaccination and biosecurity,” he said.
For further information
Eugene Smyth
Brand Manager
+353 (0) 86 2549684
Henry Creagh
Kendalls
+44 (0)1394 610022
henry.creagh@kendallscom.co.uk
About Novartis Animal Health
Novartis Animal Health researches, develops and commercialises leading animal treatments that meet the needs of pet owners, farmers and veterinarians. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and present in nearly 40 countries, Novartis Animal Health employs approximately 2,700 people worldwide. For more information, please visit www.ah.novartis.com
About Novartis
Novartis provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, eye care, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, consumer health products, preventive vaccines and diagnostic tools. Novartis is the only company with leading positions in these areas. In 2010, the Group’s continuing operations achieved net sales of USD 50.6 billion, while approximately USD 9.1 billion (USD 8.1 billion excluding impairment and amortization charges) was invested in R&D throughout the Group. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 121,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.
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